Military Career of Napoleon the Great Part 1

Military Career of Napoleon the Great.

by Montgomery B. Gibbs.

Preface.

As the closing chapters of this volume were being written, a "Napoleonic wave" seemed to be pa.s.sing over the country, an echo, no doubt, of the furore which Napoleon's name has excited in France during the past three years. One writer wittily says:

"Where'er I turn, I'm forced to learn, Some detail of his life, I read about his sword and hats, And how he beat his wife."

It seems but fair, therefore, for the author of this volume to declare that the revival of interest in the career of the man who for fifteen years had been the glory of France, has in no way caused the hasty writing, or publication, of this anecdotal military history. It is the result of years of study, and represents, not only a careful reading of those authorities which all must have access to who would write intelligently of the subject, but also of the more recent volumes which have appeared from time to time, each having something new to reveal concerning the seemingly inexhaustible fund of information pertaining to this son of a poor Corsican gentleman, who as his greatest biographer has said of him, "played in the world the parts of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar and Charlemagne."

There has never been a time, during the last fifty years at least, when the public was not eager to learn something new concerning the wonderful career of the man who once held all Europe prisoner in the folds of the French flag. The world regards Napoleon Bonaparte as a _military genius_ at least, whatever it may think of the political or social side of his life, and its relation to France. The writer does not believe that they are inseparably connected, and in offering this work it is his desire to better acquaint the admirers, as well as the enemies of the "Little Corporal," with his military career, not technically, but to picture him as his marshals, generals and soldiers knew him on the battlefield and around the campfire.

Many of these famous marshals and generals, who shared day by day all the glories and perils of their chief, and who vied with him in their activity and daring, have lately given to the world their "Memoirs,"

published many years after their death, for obvious reasons. From them one gets a much clearer insight into the true characteristics of their heroic leader. Being men of slight education their writings are confined largely to the gossip of the campaigns in which they were active partic.i.p.ants, and in reading them one is often tempted to believe that Napoleon was in command of both belligerent armies, so accurately did this giant among warriors forecast the movements of the enemy on the battlefield; and after victory had favored his bold strokes, finding himself in a position to reshape, at will, the map of Europe; for he conducted his campaigns with a degree of skill which, it is conceded by all military authorities, has never been excelled.

No man ever understood how to excite emulation, by distributing praise or blame, as did Napoleon. Chaboulon well says that the ascendancy possessed by the Emperor over the minds and courage of the soldiery was truly incomprehensible. A word, a gesture, was sufficient to inspire them with enthusiasm, and make them face the most terrible ordeals. If ordered to rush to a point, although the extreme danger of the manoeuvre might at first strike the good sense of the soldiers, they immediately reflected that their general would not have issued such a command without a motive, or have exposed them wantonly. "He knows what he is about," they would say, and immediately rush on to death, uttering shouts of "Long live the Emperor!"

No attempt is here made to give a history of France from the time Bonaparte first made his entrance into the drama of which he was so soon to be the leading actor. The successive periods of the Revolution, the Directory, the Consulate and the Empire are only introduced when found necessary to explain the rapidly advancing steps of this wonderful character in history, the worshiped idol of an entire nation, that his military career may be the better understood; hence it has been thought advisable to refer briefly, at times, to the relations of France with other countries, and the cause of his spending, during the ten years of his reign as Emperor, exactly fifty-four days less in camp, and under the enemy's fire, so to speak, than he did in his royal residences!

This, then, is the story of the man who personally commanded in 600 skirmishes, and 85 pitched battles, resigning at last his leadership on the field of Waterloo, a victim of treachery and incompetency exceeding even his own well-grounded fears; but even after these years of constant warfare and conquest, after maintaining huge armies in almost all parts of the world, he left France the richest nation in the universe, and in possession of a larger amount of specie than the rest of Europe; and notwithstanding the fact that in 1796, when he was given command of the Army of Italy, he found his government not only incapable of paying its ragged and weary troops, but unable, even, to feed them!

M. B. G.

_Chicago, Ill. December 31, 1894._

I

BOYHOOD DAYS AND EARLY CAREER

When Napoleon was a pupil of the Military School at Brienne, as a pensioner of the king, he wrote to his mother in Corsica:

"With Homer in my pocket, and my sword by my side, I hope to carve my way through the world!"

Bonaparte was then a youth of but ten years of age. For nearly thirty-five years from this time his life was a series of achievements, the success of which has rarely been equalled,--from a military standpoint, never.

His infancy was only different from that of most other boys in that he showed great animation of temper, and an impatience of inactivity, by which children of quick perception and lively sensibility are usually distinguished.

It has been said that the name "Napoleon" was given to the new-born infant of Madame Bonaparte, according to a common custom among Catholics, of naming the child after the saint on whose festival it is baptized, and that the 16th of August, the day of young Bonaparte's baptism, was the festival of St. Napoleon, (Napoleone), a saint then peculiar to Corsica.

On the confirmation of young Bonaparte at the Paris Military School the archbishop who officiated, manifesting some astonishment at the name "Napoleon," said he did not know of any such saint, and that there was no such name in the calendar.

"That should be no rule," replied Napoleon quickly, "since there are an immense number of saints, but only three hundred and sixty-five days!"

While an exile at St. Helena Napoleon said to O'Meara, his surgeon, "Saint Napoleon ought to be much obliged to me, and place all his credit in the other world to my account. The poor devil! No one knew him once, he had not even a day in the calendar. I procured him one, and persuaded the pope to a.s.sign to him the 15th of August, my birthday."

It has frequently been said of Napoleon that he was born to command.

From his earliest youth he chose arms for his profession, and in every study likely to be of service to the future soldier he distinguished himself above his contemporaries. With the mathematical tutors he was always a great favorite. His ardor for the abstract sciences amounted to a pa.s.sion, and was combined with a singular apt.i.tude for applying them to the purposes of war, while his attention to pursuits so interesting in themselves was stimulated by his natural ambition and desire of distinction in this science.

Even before Napoleon began his systematic training for a military career, and while but nine years of age, he developed a fondness for mimic warfare that frequently astonished his older companions, many of whom were his superiors both in strength and endurance; but none of whom were able to cope with him in strategy, or whose resources, when put to test, were so versatile. At Ajaccio, the place of his birth, the city boys were often engaged in personal encounters with the youths from the country. At first these contests were but the natural outcome of a jealousy which is so often found to exist between city and country boys, who meet upon the same playground. At length this feeling of rivalry became more bitter, and on some occasions, especially on holidays, when the country lads were in the habit of "coming to town," as many as a score of them were often to be found on each side engaged in pitched battles with sticks and stones.

[Ill.u.s.tration: From a Drawing by F. Grenier

BONAPARTE AT THE SIEGE OF TOULON]

The country youths had for a time been eminently successful in these encounters, and were disposed to braggadocio manners. They went about the streets with their heads lifted high, and as a result, the older folks soon began to take an interest in the outcome of the a.s.saults. On several occasions, too, the parents of the youths were interested spectators of the contests, and although the flying missiles were extremely likely to injure the onlooker, no suggestion of putting an end to the battles was ever proposed by the older heads.

Young Bonaparte was much chagrined at these defeats, and sought to find reasons for them. When not an active partic.i.p.ant he would often withdraw to some secluded spot, and there watch the movements of either side, hoping, no doubt, to detect some flaw in their manner of fighting that he might take advantage of it at a later date, and thus recover the good name of his city comrades. It could not be in numbers that defeat lay for they were almost always equally divided, and besides, there seemed to be an unwritten law between them that "Man against man" must in common honor be observed.

Finally Bonaparte hastily gathered about him a few of his chosen friends, in whom he had the most confidence, and laid before them a plan, which, if followed, he a.s.sured them would not only humiliate their hated rivals, but would also result in their complete overthrow. With shouts of approval his plan was at once declared "a tip-top one" and his lieutenants proceeded to carry out his orders. He directed that a certain number of boys be formed into a company, whose duty it should be to supply ammunition. A "defi" was then sent to the conquerors who promptly replied that they had nothing to fear. It soon became noised about among the inhabitants of Ajaccio that a "final contest" was to be fought on a certain day, and hours before the time set, hundreds of spectators were on hand to witness the contest which was destined to re-establish the prestige of the city boys. At length the fated hour arrived and the country boys made their appearance on the battlefield, armed with short sticks,--their usual weapons,--and full of confidence.

For a short time Napoleon and his followers maintained their position against these st.u.r.dy warriors, although, as heretofore, they found themselves overmatched by mere force of brute strength.

Napoleon now gave the signal agreed upon to retreat. Slowly his forces gave way, endeavoring at the same time to keep up an appearance of fighting to the best of their ability. To rea.s.sure the country chaps that they were overpowering their contestants purely on their fighting merits, an occasional rally was ordered by the city leader; but this show of resistance was always followed by him with another retreat more p.r.o.nounced than that which preceded it. At length Napoleon found himself with his followers on the sh.o.r.e of the sandy beach and the country lads believed themselves conquerors once more. "Victory!" "Victory!" they cried, as they came rushing up, expecting a complete surrender. In their haste to make a final a.s.sault the pursuers had not noticed that each of the city boys had laid down his stick and had his hand upon the ground.

In it was grasped tightly a stone which was still partially covered by the sands of the beach.

"Ready! Fire!" shouted Napoleon, and immediately the air was filled with swift-flying stones, each of which was followed by a second and that by a third missile, all landing with terrific force on the unprotected heads and shoulders of the over-confident country lads. They had cried victory before the battle was won.

In another moment they found themselves disorganized and the victims of shouts of derision that came from the spectators who had followed the retreating forces to see the final outcome of the battle. Sticks at a distance of 20 or 30 feet were no match for the new weapons of the city lads, and reluctantly they turned and fled, having themselves no stones to throw.

Now it was Napoleon's forces who were the pursuers; but the ranks of the st.u.r.dy country lads were sadly depleted and their resistance was brief.

That night Napoleon was a hero in Ajaccio. With the older folks gathered about him he told and retold how he and his followers had spent the preceding night burying stones in the sand, that they might have them for weapons on the morrow when Napoleon's plan, which included retreat to this point on the beach, might be turned into the victory they had been a.s.sured would follow their arrival there.

The student of Napoleon's military campaigns will detect in this manoeuvre a striking similarity to more sanguine contests on the battlefield where human lives were at stake.

Throughout his life Napoleon's stronghold was strategy, and never was it more clearly ill.u.s.trated than in this harmless contest of his youth, and to which he often recurred when pa.s.sing an hour or two with his marshals and generals while preparing for contests on which the fate of France depended.

Up to a few years ago,--it may to this present time,--an interesting relic of Napoleon's childhood was preserved in his native place. It was a small bra.s.s cannon, weighing about thirty pounds, and it is said he would leave all other amus.e.m.e.nts for the pleasure of firing off this dangerous plaything. His favorite retreat was a solitary summer house, among the rocks on the sea sh.o.r.e, about a mile from Ajaccio, where his mother's brother had a villa. The place is now in ruins; it afterwards came to be known as "Napoleon's Grotto." Nothing interested him more during these early years, than to hear his mother tell the story of her exciting hardships as she fled from one part of the island to another before the conquering French. Thus, unconsciously, she no doubt nurtured in her second son that warlike spirit which was manifested in him to such a marked degree in after years.

During the time Napoleon attended school, young men were taught that the only fame worth striving for was that won by military achievements.

Napoleon's parents, therefore, exerted all the influence they could command to gain scholarships for the education of their two oldest sons,--Joseph and Napoleon. Their prayers were at last granted owing to the invaluable aid of Monsieur de Marboeuf, Bishop of Autun and nephew of the governor of Corsica. Joseph was to take orders and to be placed in the college of Autun; Napoleon, intended for the navy, was to go to the school at Brienne, having previously gone through a course at Autun so as to learn sufficient French to be able to follow the lectures. They started on this journey, which was to have so much influence on their future lives, on December 15, 1778. After a halt at Florence to procure papers showing the ancient n.o.bility of the Bonaparte family, and which were necessary to Napoleon before entering the school at Brienne, they proceeded to Autun. The herald declared that, "Young Napoleon Bonaparte possessed the n.o.bility necessary for admission into the ranks of the gentlemen who are educated by his Majesty in the royal schools." Charles Bonaparte had been able to satisfy the authorities that his patent of n.o.bility was authentic and privileged him to sign his name "de Bonaparte."

Napoleon arrived at Brienne, on the 23d of April, 1779, having in three months at Autun "learned sufficient French to enable him to converse easily and to write small essays and translations."

At Brienne Bourrienne, whose friendship for him commenced thus early, describes him as follows: "Bonaparte was noticeable at Brienne for his Italian complexion, the keenness of his look, and the tone of his conversation with masters and comrades. There was almost always a dash of bitterness in what he said. He had very little of the disposition that leads to attachments; which I can only attribute to the misfortunes of his family ever since his birth and the impression that the conquest of his country had made on his early years."

The fact that he was a brave, manly boy, all biographers agree in recording. His poverty subjected him to mortification among his comrades, who also ridiculed him on account of his country and twitted him with the obsolete saint whose name he bore. These taunts he allowed himself to settle with the offenders openly and never descended to report them to his tutors. On one occasion, with Bourrienne, who became his private secretary in later years, he suffered several days'

imprisonment rather than reveal the names of the real offenders who had neglected their duties.

Napoleon's prompt.i.tude of reply was displayed on many occasions during his attendance at this school. One day as he was undergoing an examination by a general officer, he answered all the questions proposed with so much precision, and accompanied by such a depth of penetration, that the general, the professors and the students, were astonished. At length, in order to bring the interrogatories to a close, Napoleon was asked the following question:

"What line of conduct would you adopt in case you were besieged in a fortified place and was dest.i.tute of provisions?"